＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49) on X
In recent summers, we’ve seen a string of scorching hot days exceeding 35°C every year in various parts of Japan, and I think it won’t be long before scorching hot days exceeding 40°C become the norm in Japan.
By the way, as a countermeasure to this heatwave, I’ve been seeing a lot of dry mist installations around train stations and on pedestrian decks.
1. Dry Mist on the Pedestrian Deck South of JR Takatsuki Station
A dry mist unit has been installed on the pedestrian deck connecting to Matsuzakaya on the south side of JR Takatsuki Station near my house, but I’m concerned that the outlet faces outward.
Because the outlet faces outward, the dry mist is blown away by the wind and dissipates to the outside, dissipating into mist. It’s not effective in lowering the temperature of the road directly below the roof where the dry mist unit is installed. It feels like a waste of dry mist.
Shouldn’t the outlet face inward to increase the cooling effect?
If the idea is “for people walking in uncovered areas,” shouldn’t they at least be “directly downwards” so that the wind can blow it away?
We would like to ask Takatsuki City, JR West, Matsuzakaya, and other relevant parties to consider this.
2. “Dry Mist” at Tajimi Station South Plaza in Tajimi City, Gifu Prefecture
Tajimi City, Gifu Prefecture, which, along with Kumagaya City in Saitama Prefecture and Tatebayashi City in Gunma Prefecture, is famous for its extreme heat, has installed “Dry Mist” at the “Tajimi Station South Plaza” as part of the “Tajimi Station South District Urban Redevelopment Project.”
In this case, the dry mist outlet appears to be pointing downward toward the inside of the roof on which it is installed.
3. What is “Dry Mist”?
“Dry mist” is a device that sprays water in a fine mist and uses the heat of vaporization to cool specific areas, primarily on the ground. It’s called “mist spraying” in English.
The water particles are as small as 16 μm, evaporating quickly and eliminating the risk of skin or clothing getting wet.
4. The History of “Dry Mist”
The invention of “dry mist” was actually invented by a Japanese person, former Nagoya University professor Makoto Tsujimoto (1951-).
While attending a “meeting on rooftop greening” in 2002, Tsujimoto apparently came up with the idea of directly spraying water and utilizing the heat of vaporization as an alternative to the time-consuming and costly practice of rooftop greening.
The idea may have been inspired by the ancient Japanese practice of “uchimizu” (sprinkling water over the ground), which uses the heat of vaporization to cool the air.
Subsequently, using the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s “Regional Revitalization Consortium Research and Development Project,” practical application was achieved through joint development with Nagoya University, Shimizu Corporation, Nohmi Bosai, Chubu Electric Power, Kawamoto Manufacturing, and Tokin.
A small-scale system for residential use was also developed in 2007.